Judicial Appointments

Northern Ireland's Attorney General John Larkin QC has been sworn in as a temporary High Court judge. The appointment follows that of six other barristers who have taken up positions on the bench while continuing their work at the Bar.

Five senior Northern Ireland barristers have taken up office as temporary High Court judges as of today. Bar of Northern Ireland members David Scoffield QC, Stephen Shaw QC, Michael Humphreys QC, Karen Quinlivan QC and Gerald Simpson QC have been sworn in, as well as Daniel Friedman QC.

A record 320 bills, including the controversial bill to reform the judicial appointments process, are expected to lapse when the Dáil is dissolved for the election next month. The majority of the bills expected to fall were introduced by backbench TDs, who had more opportunities to introduce

Ireland's judge at the European Court of Human Rights has been elected as one of five section presidents. Síofra O'Leary began her two-year term as head of the court's fifth section at the start of the year.

Lord Reed has been installed as the new President of the UK Supreme Court. The Scottish judge was sworn in at a ceremony in London this morning, where he was “especially pleased to see here so many of my former colleagues of the Scottish bench and bar”.

Four appointments to the Court of Appeal, High Court, Circuit Court and District Court benches have been agreed by the Government at its final meeting of the year. Mr Justice David Binchy, who was appointed to the High Court in 2014, has been nominated for elevation to the Court of Appeal to fill th

The controversial Judicial Appointments Commission Bill has completed the final stage in the Seanad after 125 hours of debate. The Government imposed a guillotine last night to bring debate on the legislation to an end, despite protests from opposition politicians.

The controversial Judicial Appointments Bill has been amended in the Seanad to allow former barristers and solicitors to be considered "lay persons" three years after leaving practice. The bill previously provided that someone could not be considered a "lay person" until 15 years after ceasing to pr

Ms Justice Mary Baker has been nominated for elevation to the Supreme Court in a trio of nominations agreed by the Cabinet yesterday. She has served on the Court of Appeal bench since June 2018, having previously served as a judge of the High Court from 2014.

Four senior barristers and a solicitor have been nominated for appointment to the High Court. At a meeting yesterday, the Government nominated Brian O'Moore SC, Mark Sanfey SC, Mary Rose Gearty SC, Niamh Hyland SC and solicitor Mark Heslin for appointment by the president.

Mr Justice Michael Peart, the first solicitor appointed to the High Court, has retired from the Court of Appeal. The president of the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice George Birmingham, led tributes to the retiring judge on Friday.

The Association of Judges of Ireland (AJI) raised concerns about the quality of applicants for appointment to the bench in a letter to the Public Service Pay Commission two years ago. The letter, written by Mr Justice George Birmingham in his capacity as association president, outlines concerns amon

Seven judges have been nominated by Government for appointment to the enlarged Court of Appeal. Legislation to increase the number of ordinary judges in the Court of Appeal from nine to 15 was approved by the Oireachtas in July.

Mr Justice Bernard McCloskey has been sworn in as a Lord Justice of Appeal in Northern Ireland. The senior judge, who was appointed to the High Court in 2008, was sworn into office at a ceremony in the Royal Courts of Justice this morning.

Her Majesty The Queen has approved the appointment of Lord Reed as the next president of the UK Supreme Court. Lord Reed will succeed Baroness Hale of Richmond as president, alongside three additional appointments as justices.